THE BULLETIN

3rd September 2017

Number 6

Midweek Matches

On Tuesday evening, Buckland Athletic’s 100% Premier Division record was finally brought to an end after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Street. Buckland came flying out of the traps and forged a two-goal lead inside 22 minutes thanks to goals from Charlie Johansen and Lloyd Gardner. Street then forged a remarkable comeback, with David O’Hare sliding home, followed by two goals from Steve Murray as the home side claimed a one-goal lead going into the break. Both sides came close to adding to their tallies in the second-half, but the only goal came five minutes from time with Jared Lewington smashing home to grab a point for the Devon outfit. Melksham Town got back to winning ways in smashing fashion, claiming a 6-0 win away at Longwell Green Sports. Top scorer Gary Higdon opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before adding a second in the moments after half-time as Melksham took control. Four goals in the final 20 minutes added gloss to the scoreline with Luke Ballinger (twice), Daniel Demkiv and Mike Perrott all beating the Longwell keeper. A second-half header from Kane Simpson handed Odd Down a 1-0 win over Brislington, while goals from Ryan Guppy and David Steele helped Willand Rovers claim a 2-1 victory away at Wells City. Dean Griffiths, Tom Knighton and Ben Wych all grabbed goals in Bitton’s 3-1 win at home to Cadbury Heath, and at Fairfax Park, there was a 1-1 draw between Bridgwater Town and Bridport with Jake Llewellyn scoring for the home side before Mark Salter equalised on the cusp of half-time. Wednesday night’s action saw a trio of home wins, which included Bradford Town’s 2-1 victory over Chipping Sodbury Town thanks to a brace from Dan Cottle. A flicked header from Scott Lewis, and a strike from Jack Fillingham led Hengrove Athletic to a 2-1 win over Cribbs, while at the Hand Stadium, an early goal from Kaine Gazzard was followed by goals either side of half-time by Liam Dempsey in Clevedon Town’s 3-1 victory over Hallen who had Tom Collett to thank for their goal.

In the First Division, Keynsham Town were Tuesday evening’s big winners, with goals from Scott Saunders, Kyle Box and Cameron Shorney leading them to a 3-0 triumph away at Cheddar. Late goals from Luke Redrup and Marcus Cook helped to secure a pair of 3-3 draw’s for Bishops Lydeard and Wincanton Town in their fixtures with Bishop Sutton and Portishead Town respectively. There was also a goalless draw between Chippenham Park and Warminster Town at Hardenhuish Park, while nine-man Devizes Town won 2-1 against Calne Town thanks to goals from Tom Salter and Jake Waters. Taoufik Ben-Salem fired Chard Town to their first league in spectacular fashion, grabbing four goals in their 5-2 win away at Sherborne Town. It was Sherborne who made a fast start to the game, and were ahead after only 12 minutes with Alexandru Stafie firing home. Ben-Salem scored his first of the evening three minutes after Stafie’s opener, before adding twice in the lead up to half-time to secure a first-half hat-trick. After 55 minutes the game was all but over when Ben-Salem grabbed his and Chard’s fourth, with Dave Smith grabbing one back for the hosts before Max Westlake completed the scoring five minutes into stoppage time. At the Aitchison Playing Field, Sam Skidmore scored 11 minutes from time to grab a 1-1 draw for Ashton & Backwell United away at Oldland Abbotonians, with the fixture between Westbury United and Almondsbury finishing with the same scoreline.

FA Cup

Cadbury Heath are through to the second qualifying round after a 2-1 comeback win away at Andover Town. The home side went ahead inside the opening ten minutes after converting a corner, but Heath fought back and were level at the break following a header from Sacha Tong. It was then left to Christian Lee to complete the turn around, scoring the eventual winner seven minutes into the second half. Bridport were the second Western League side to book their spot in the next round after claiming a 1-0 win at home to Barnstaple Town. Thomas Richardson was the Bridport match-winner, scoring the only goal in the 25th minute in front of a bumper crowd. There was no such luck for Willand Rovers who went down to a 6-1 loss at Merthyr Town, with former Bath City-winger Kerry Morgan and current Newport County loanee Modou Touray each scoring twice for the Welsh-side. Odd Down’s run is also over after Harry Baker smashed a hat-trick in Weymouth’s 5-0 win, while Chinedu Vine scored the only goal as Gosport Borough defeated Bridgwater Town 1-0.

Premier Division

Buckland Athletic survived a scare to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, scoring a late equaliser in their 2-2 draw with Melksham Town. Jared Lewington had given Buckland the perfect start, before goals either side of the break from Dan Demkiv and Oliver Webb put Melksham ahead against the league leaders. The game then seemingly got tougher for the trailing Buckland side when Liam Drew, but they showed a lot of resolve to claim a point with Liam Head equalising eight minutes from time. Street claimed their third league win of the season, with David O’Hare’s 35th minute strike helping them edge to a 1-0 victory over Hallen. Shepton Mallet grabbed a share of the points in their 2-2 draw with Bradford Town despite falling to an early two-goal deficit. A Will Haliston header and a cross-come-shot from Dan Cottle put Bradford two goals up early in the piece, but goals either side of the break from Ash Willmott and Craig Loxton helped Mallet rescue a draw. Cribbs skipper Jake Hodgson starred for the Bristol side as they claimed a 3-2 win at home to Wells City. After breaking the deadlock in the 13th minute, Hodgson watched on as Wells snatched a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Darren Maynard and Harry Davidson. Charlie Aldom got Cribbs back on level terms, before Hodgson smashed home a penalty eight minutes from time to claim all three points for the home side. Chipping Sodbury Town scored twice in either half to claim their first win in five games, strolling to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Brislington.

First Division

Bristol Telephones continued their electric start to life in the Western League, storming to a 6-0 win away at Bishops Lydeard. Dhani Golding’s early season goal scoring exploits continued, with the frontman scoring twice more in a statement win for the early leaders. Lee Pitman also grabbed a brace for the Phones, with Leon Britton and James Batch completing the scoring. Chippenham Park’s unbeaten run in all competitions has stretched to five matches following a 3-1 home win over Welton Rovers, with their goals coming from Darrin Moss, Ben Pring and Lewis McCarron. At the Lancer Scott Stadium, Calne Town fought back from a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2-2 with Ashton & Backwell United. A first half brace from Sam Skidmore looked to be edging the hosts towards a the win, but Calne were having none of it and the prolific Billy Gleed and Stu Windsor grabbed second half goals for a share of the points. Harry Brook’s brace, plus goals from Ashley Knight and Alex Bisp led Almondsbury to a 4-1 win away at Radstock Town, while Oldland Abbotonians took a 2-0 win over Chard Town thanks to goals from Joe Walters and Jack Metcalf. Wincanton Town claimed a 3-1 win away at Corsham Town, with Danny Golden and Andy Mitchell registering goals after an earlier own-goal. Sherborne Town and Portishead Town shared a 1-1 draw at Raleigh Grove, with Sam Farthing firing home an equaliser after Rob Latham had given Portishead a tenth-minute lead, while Bishop Sutton moved up to tenth with a 2-1 win away at Warminster Town. Westbury United remain unbeaten in the league this season after claiming a 3-2 win away at Roman Glass St George. A goal in the sixth-minute from Josh Ferguson set Westbury on their way, and when Mark Robinson managed to scramble the ball home they were two goals ahead just after the break. The hosts got a goal back with Lewis Wentland powering home a header, but Westbury’s two-goal lead was soon restored with Liam Milburn scoring from inside the box. The scoring was not complete however, and after Joe Swift scored Roman Glass’ second, they pushed for a late equaliser which didn’t originate.